Element supporting stem construction



Sept. 20, 1932. 8 G. D. MccABE 1,878,286

ELEMENT SUPPORTING STEM CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 3l, 1950 Ilumi 7 /Hl 11n/n lll Patented Sept. 20, A1932 y i UNITED STATES erronea D. iviccABE, or cHIcAediLLiNois V:Edl'illillvllENT SUPPORTING- STEM CONSTRUCTION y ,Application filed oetbrereiyisso.' seal No. 492,447.

This `invention relatesto an*V element supporting stem construction, and an object of the invention is the provision of an improved "construction of.; this character particularly adapted for supporting `elements suchas radio vacuum-tubes, `although it is to be understood. that the invention is not neces-` sarily confined to this particular use.y A more specific object lresides inthe provision of a tube stem designed andarranged to maintain 'the element supportingmembers in a relationship whereby increased` support for the ele- Y ments is aorded andrbending or distortion vdency to cause vWire supports. Such bending or distortion is,l

AV- Vfrequently the cause of microphonics or other ofthe supports prevented. lT'he construction of the present invention Vmay be` applied to advantage in tubes suchas gaseous rectiiiers,

Vphoto-electric cells, ultra-.violet ray lamps, inf

candescent lamps, mercui'yvapor lamps, mercury switches, X-ray tubes, gaseous illuminating signs, etc. Inradio'tube construction, for example, lthe element supporting mem-1 Vbers such as the Wireswhich support the plate and grid elements, are generally constructed of soft metal,.such as soft` nickelvvire, andv any sudden jarring, such as frequently occurs in transportationY and handling, has a tena bending or distortion of the impairment in the eiciency of the tube. AA more particular object of the invention, there fore, is the provision-of a supporting stem Vin Whichl the Wires-aredisposed in a plural ity of vertical planes whereby increased stability is provided by reasonV of lateralk supports arranged to reinforce the element supporting members.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.' The invention consists inthe combinations and `arrangenrientsof parts hereinafter described and claimed. Y

The invention Will bebest understood by reference to the accompanying drawing forming a part ,of this specication, and inlV which: c y

Fig. 1 is an elevationalvievv, partly broken away, of a radio tube embodying the present invention; K c, y E

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective vieW of the `structure shown in Fig. 1,"vvith the en rvFig. 3 is a plan view of lthe in tubes,

As'illustrated intheV drawing, theinven- Y tionis shown incorporated 4in a radio vacn uumtube having an enclosing glass shell or tube 6, base 7, and contactprongs 8. rlh'e 4preferred' lembodiment* of the present invention comprises an element supporting stem?V '9 which s suitably secured in the base 7 for '65 the purposey of supporting the variousfelements that may be employed. Stem 9 is prefyeiablyformed of glass Which is compressed .or molded into the outline or vformation shovvn afterpositioning of the element sup-v portingmembers orV Wires. `This distinctive formation comprises a vertical centralsupporting portionlO, at oneendof Which vis provided a'vertically transverse supporting` 'verticallytransverse supporting portion 12. Intliefor'ination `of the stem a plurality of elementsupporting members are sealed With-V`v intliecentral portion 10, andin the embodi- Wires 13, 14, 15,16, and 17 These Wires may be composed of any suitable material such as soft nickel, and, asjshovvn, are dispos'edin,

orsub'stantially in the same vertical'plane,

element sup# PATENT oFfFicE f 'portion' 11 and-'fat the opposite end a seco-ndvv 75 Ament shownithese'memberstakethe form of 80 andjfor convenient reference be -terin'ed` 35" the main supportingmembers or Wires. The

Wires 13 to 17,1inclu'sive, may extend any desired distance Within the stem 9, and a pre- 'ferredV constructionl is to have .these Wires v embeddedbutlajsho-rt distance andthe con- 90 nections continued by Vcopper cladv vvire .These main supporting Wires y are supple-v mented by 'aplurality kor set of auxiliaryy sup- .porting/ Wires 1 8;and' 19,1mounted in the transverseend' portion llfand disposed in 0F95 substantially in a verticalplane perpendicular to the plane of thev main supporting Wires V13v and 1f?. vAsecond yset or pluralityo-faux'- iliary supportingwires .2O and 21 are dis- Aposed inthe opposite transverse end portionff.100

12 and are thus likewise disposed in a vertical plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of the main wires 13 and 17, and in the construction shown, parallel to the plane of supports 18 and 19. Wires 18, 19, 20, and 21 may be embedded within the glass stem 9 any desired distance in order to afford a relatively rigid support above the stein, but in the preferred construction, inasmuch as all or nearly all of these wires function as reinforcing members, they extend a greater distance downwardly than the main element supports 13 to 17. Y

It will be evident that any desired arrangement of elements may be employed inasmuch as the supporting wires are disposed in a plurality of vertical planes, and may therefore be utilized to advantage not only'directly to support the relements but to reinforce latverally both the elements and the element supports. F or example, in 'the embodiment shown, wires 18 and 21 may be bent laterally and then upwardly, as shown, to pro-vi de vertical supports for a plate 22. Wires 13 and 17 may then be bent as shown, to provide upwardly extending portions disposed in the same transverse plane as the plate support- Y ing portions of wires 18 and 21, and these upper portions of wires y13 and 17 may be employed to support a grid 23 enclosed wit-l. in plate 22. Similarly', wires 14 and 16 may be bent laterally land then turned upwardly to provide supports for filament 24. The central wire may thenbe bent laterally and upwardly to clear the plate 22, and provided at its upper extremity with a lateral anchoring wire 25 for supporting the upper portion of filament 24. Il`hus, in the contruction shown, all of the wires, with the exception of the filament supporting wires 14 and 16, extend substantially to the same height and are interconnected by means of a plate of suitable dielectric material such as mica 26 which is suitably pierced to receive the upper extremities ofthe wires, after which the ends of the wires may be enlarged by pressing to confine the mica plate V26. As

shown, the mica plate 26 is preferably provided with a central opening for connecting the anchor wire 25 with the-filament 24, and

in'lieu of enlargement of the ends of the respective wires by pressing, the mica 26 may be rigidly secured in place by means ofsmall welded straps or equivalent means.

The structure entails no greaterexpense in manufacture, and the particular arrangement of the elem-ent supports, including the lateral reinforcing-members, such as wires While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying lmy invention into effect, this is capable of variation and modification without departing from the spirit of the invention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself to such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

disposed substantially inthe same vertical` plane, and a plurality of auxiliary element supporting wires embedded in said transverse portion and disposed in a vertical plane transversely of the vertical plane of said main element supporting wires.

2. A tube stem construction of the character described, comprising a m'ain'vertical element supporting portion, a vertical vtransverse element supporting portion disposed transversely of said main portion at one end thereof, a plurality of main element supporting wires embedded in said main portion and disposed substantially in the same vertical plane, a plurality of auxiliary element supporting 'end thereof, and a plurality of auxiliary elep'ment supporting wires embedded in said second transverse portion and-disposed in a vertical plane transversely of the vertical plane of said main element supporting wires.

ln testimony whereof l have signed my naine to this specification.

vGEORGE D; MCCABE.

19 and 20, inthe illustrative embodiment,

increases the stability of the supports as a whole. Consequently, distortion of the elements or supports, such as frequently occurs in .transportation and handling, is' substantially prevented and vdurability and efficiency of the tube .increased- 

